Easter Sunday (sermon)

The Truth for You

John 20:1-17

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." So far our Text.

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

There are only a couple of places in scripture when God hides himself from those to whom he is talking, but sometimes I often wonder if the people are blinded by their circumstances, or God actually blinds them for a time.

Mary does not recognize Jesus right away. Does she not recognize him, because she is looking for him in all the wrong places. The church uses crucifixes to remember what Christ has done for us. Likewise, because the Church should rightfully proclaim Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins. But we know Jesus is not still on the cross. He is not still suffering for our daily sins, he suffered once for all.

Similarly, we may have pictures of the empty tomb. We may even be like Mary early in the morning going to the empty tomb, expecting to find Jesus. St Peter and most assume St John run to the empty tomb in search for Jesus. Mary a second time looks into the tomb and sees two Angels. If you placed a dead man in a tomb, where else would you expect to find the dead man.

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Mary is not expecting to turn away from the tomb and have Jesus speak to her, because she is in search for his body, not the Risen Christ. She is seeking Jesus in all the wrong places, but Jesus comes to her and calls her by name. Now that is a message that will preach.

The book BROKEN has taught us that we look for God in all the wrong places. But he is still seeking you out. He has washed you in the blood of Christ. He has given you a name. He even feeds you the flesh and blood of our Crucified and Risen savior.

Pastor Fisk sums it up nicely on page 273. "Your hands were never meant to build a path to God: Moralism is a rule for counterfeit Christianity. Your heart was never meant to divine an immediate connection with God: Mysticism is a rule for counterfeit Christianity. Your mind was never meant to think your way around God: Rationalism is a rule for counterfeit Christianity. The material world was never meant to define your relationship with God: Prosperity is a rule for counterfeit Christianity. Spirituality was never meant to be an "If ... then ..." pact with God: IfWeCanJust is a rule for counterfeit Christianity. Freedom was never meant to be a cover-up for evil: Lawlessness is a rule for counterfeit Christianity. "You Can Find God" is a lie: it is the ever-Lie, which the original liar has been lying with since the beginning. It is the root of all counterfeit "Christianity" rules. It is the source of doubt."

Mary, St Peter, and St John all ran to look to find Jesus in the tomb. But Jesus is not in the tomb. He is done, it is finished. Jesus died on the cross, and we believe this, because it happened in history and it provides you with the forgiveness of sins. He rose from the dead, and we believe this, because it happened in history and it is only the beginning of the Resurrection of all flesh.

We believe this not because we find it in our heart, hands, mind, world, church, or even ourselves. We believe this because God said so. God found you. He called you to believe. He brought you to this place, so that he could place his name upon you. Even though you may not see him or recognize him, He is here.

We can either continue to seek Jesus. You can go to Walmart, or even an actual book store, find tons of books that will teach you how to find God, or meaning for this life. Or you can keep listening to Word of God.

Christ has died for your transgressions. He has paid the price for your sins. You have fallen short. You have sinned in thought word and deed. You are not a good person, and you definitely are not a perfect person. So don't try to compare your goodness to God's goodness.

This is why we hold up the crucifix before your eyes. It reminds us we are sinners and we have a savior. Similarly, we look to the empty tomb. Because with the Crucified Christ all your sins and transgressions were laid in that tomb. And now there is nothing left. Your sins have be disposed of.

Similarly, we may even say, like Mary, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." We may think God has abandoned us. We may think he is lost. But God is never lost, we are the ones who get lost. But God continues to search us out. He continues to find you. Jesus said to her, "Mary." Mary immediately recognized her Lord, her teacher, and her friend.

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

Maybe we as Christians need to stop trying to find God, and realize he found us. He claimed us to be his own. And then maybe we will actually reach out to other people to tell them God is looking for them. This may help a few more people stop looking for God in all the wrong places.

I don't know if you ever heard the story of the lost boy in a grocery store. But there was a little boy shopping with his mother. He found a box of cereal that had a toy in it, and just kept looking at the box. Then he noticed that his mother was not next to him. She was not even in the aisle with him anymore. So he ran to one end of the aisle, and looked both ways and couldn't see her. So he went to the next aisle and ran down it in search for his mother.

Meanwhile, His mother had moved on from the cereal aisle and a few aisles later recognized that her son was gone. So she zipped the cart to the end of the aisle and looked both ways and couldn't see her boy. So she went back to the cereal aisle, assuming he was still there. He was gone. So up and down every aisle looking.

When the boy was at the back of the store, Mother was at the front of the store. Eventually, Mother in her wisdom chose to stay at the front of the store and wait. Not too long after the boy came running down the aisle. And of course there is the happy ending. But sometimes you just need to stop, and do nothing. God is seeking you out.

"Be still and know that I am God." Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.